John J. Craven

John J. Craven (b.1971) was enthusiastically drawn to listening to classical music, music theater, and popular music as a child. He studied piano and flute and began to compose at age 11. He was a winner in the Fourth International Aaron Copland Competition for Young Composers at age 12. He studied piano at the Peabody Conservatory of Music from 1989 to 1991. From 1992 to 1994 he received a B.A. in Communication Studies at the University of Iowa; in 1997 he completed a B.F.A. in music composition at SUNY Purchase. He returned to Peabody in 2009 to receive a M.M. in composition. 

For 10 years, besides working at the Columbia University Music and Arts Library and for Wiley Publishing, among other corporations, he was a pianist for leading dance academies and a composer in the Lehman-Engel BMI Music Theatre Workshop. He also worked as a classical pianist, arranger, and music director in the Greater New York area. He composed piano, vocal, and chamber music for music ensembles in church recitals.

Since 2020 he has made his music available on the eScholarship Open Access Publishing Platform that is subsidized by the University of California and managed by the California Digital Library. His piano piece Turning Up the Heat is included in the Navona Records album SUSTAIN VOL. 2 (2021). His flute and guitar composition Reflections of a Bygone Era is included in the Da Vinci Classics’ album New Works for Flutes and Guitars (2021). He has presented his works in music festivals across the United States and in Europe.